


A Cat By Any Other Name

by WhatWouldLilyDo



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Dex has a cat AU, Everyone else still did, Is that a thing, M/M, NHL!Chowder, NHL!Nursey, Nursey didn't go to Samwell, Nursey is a Falc, POV Derek "Nursey" Nurse, Providence Falconers, Texting, and just know he is loving and supporting them both, fast burn, he's not actually in the fic but it's a frog fic so he's still important
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2020-04-06 14:33:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19064596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatWouldLilyDo/pseuds/WhatWouldLilyDo
Summary: Nursey sat by the cat and held out a finger in greeting. “You’re gorgeous. I haven’t seen you before. Hi. I’m Derek.”The cat leaned its head towards his finger cautiously before pressing its head against his hand. Nursey was all too happy to give the cat the petting it wanted. “How are you, this fine day?”The cat stood and looked at Nursey before she arched her back and rubbed it against his hand as she stepped onto his lap. Her eyes seemed to be pointed to the cast on his left arm.“I know,” Nursey said with a sigh. “I play hockey for the Falcs, you see, but a bit of a confession — I didn’t injure myself on the ice. It was totally unchill. I tripped over the boards at the end of the game. I may never be able to show my face in public again. But I have to be chill. For the fans. And Jack drew a falcon, look, so at least I have a neat cast.”An AU in which Nursey befriends a cat. For the OMGCP Reverse Bang, based on art by pretty-meris.





	A Cat By Any Other Name

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Art](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/488368) by pretty-meris. 



Nursey’s eyes were heavy with the painkillers he had taken and his cast was cradled cautiously against his stomach. The engine turned off and he blinked at Tater through the dim light of the nighttime.

“Thanks, Tater Tot.”

He moved to unbuckled his seat belt, but Tater beat him to it. “Stay there.”

Nursey rolled his eyes and opened his door anyway. “I only broke my wrist, I’m not completely useless.”

“You a bit useless, Nurse. Now I have to play with baby rookie Nessie.”

“Consider it a chance to become a better player.”

“Little rat.” Tater reached out to try and pull Nursey into a headlock, which Nursey ducked away from.

“Leave me alone; I have a sports injury.”

“Stupid injury,” Tater muttered for what was probably the tenth time since Nursey had been rushed to hospital in the first place. “You have new neighbor?”

His lips were pulled into a pout, ready to argue over the validity of his injury when Tater’s words made him pause. He looked at the moving van and the unfamiliar truck with a Maine license plate parked a few feet in front of Tater’s car.

“I guess so. The apartment with the window opposite from mine was just sold.”

“You should say hi!”

“Tater, it’s two a.m.”

“Moving van is still here. You need more friends,” Tater said with a decisiveness which Nursey found offensive. “Good job that you have lots of time now to be good neighbor.”

“I have plenty of friends.”

Tater insisted on walking Nursey up to his apartment to make sure he didn’t trip again. The window of the apartment across was lit and filled with guys around Nursey’s age and cardboard boxes. A couple stood with their backs to the window, and while the guy was wearing what looked from behind to be a suit jacket over a teal hoodie, the woman wore a Sharks jersey with Chow’s number on the back. Nursey wondered if they had been at his game earlier, or if there was another way some San Jose fans had found themselves on the East coast.

A redhead in green flannel rolled his eyes and snatched a box marked “underwear” away from a tall blond with the biggest teeth Nursey had ever seen. Then, with a frown, he turned to another box and spoke some sharp words while his friends laughed around him.

“You should definitely say hi,” Tater said. “Your type. Like fall leaves.”

Nursey rolled his eyes. “I’m pretty sure he’s crazy, Tater. He’s talking to a box.”

“Your type,” Tater repeated with a shrug.

* * *

“Nurse, you say hi to new neighbor yet?” Tater called to the bench the next morning in practice.

“I haven’t had the chance,” Nursey replied, but after he had got home, he still noticed that the Maine truck was gone. No matter. Nursey had plenty of friends anyway.

He took a step back when he found his path to his building’s front door obstructed. A cat, probably not a stray given its clean-looking fluffy fur, was lying on the steps with the sun shining down on her like a spotlight. She lifted its head when Nursey approached and he stared into amber eyes.

“Hi there, kitty. Where did you come from?”

The cat closed her eyes and put her head back on her paws, clearly considering Nursey to be no threat to her peace.

Nursey sat by the cat and held out a finger in greeting. “You’re gorgeous. I haven’t seen you before. Hi. I’m Derek.”

The cat leaned her head towards his finger cautiously before pressing her head against his hand. Nursey was all too happy to give the cat the petting it wanted. “How are you, this fine day?”

The cat stood and looked at Nursey before she arched her back and rubbed it against his hand as she stepped onto his lap. Her eyes seemed to be pointed to the cast on his left arm.

“I know,” Nursey said with a sigh. “I play hockey for the Falcs, you see, but a bit of a confession — I didn’t injure myself on the ice. It was totally unchill. I tripped over the boards at the end of the game. I may never be able to show my face in public again. But I have to be chill. For the fans. And Jack drew a falcon, look, so at least I have a neat cast.”

He pointed at the basic sketch next to Jack Zimmermann’s signature. The cat knocked her nose against the cast, where a round blob had been drawn in Sharpie.

“That’s supposed to be a potato. Tater drew that.”

The cat mewed an excuse and pattered away.

* * *

She was there again the next day when Nursey went to get his mail, and then when he got back from the lunch place a couple of blocks away. Each time, they greeted each other like old friends and Nursey would spoil her with scratches and kisses until she decided it was time for her to go. He didn’t find out which apartment she belonged to until he was sat on his couch reading and Bitty called him.

“Hey, Bitty.”

“Nursey! How’s your wrist, honey?”

“Oh. You know. Some pie might help the healing.”

“I’m sure. You’re in luck, actually. I’m headed your way if you’re home.”

Nursey scrambled off the couch, remembering to not use his broken wrist to break his fall just in time. “Sure, that would be great,” he said, but his eyes were frantic as he looked around the apartment. Hopefully Bitty wasn’t too close because there was a lot of cleaning up to do if he was on his way over. He pulled the blinds up a little too aggressively and steadied the succulent that was nearly knocked off the sill in the process.

In his ear, Bitty was talking about some friend he had been about to visit, but Nursey was more focused on the window opposite. The apartment was still plain, with only a couch and a few stray boxes in the room Nursey could see into, but there was life in the form of an orange cat curled up by the window, sleeping.

“Why he’s gone to work today of all days. That boy. He works harder than God, I swear. Oh, Nursey I can’t wait to introduce you!”

Nursey frowned at the cat. “Uh, I’ve already met Jack? He introduced us, remember? I work with him.”

“No, not Jack, although he certainly works harder than God too. I meant—”

As Nursey turned away from the window, he caught sight of a pile of dirty clothes. “Oh shit. Hey, Bitty, do I have time to go to the laundrette?”

* * *

When Bitty arrived, Nursey took up his spot on the couch to eat pie and watch the cat in the apartment opposite chase a fly. He was certain that it was the same cat as he had met earlier, and it made sense not just because of the timing but because he could see her and his new neighbor together. After all, they were both redheads.

“Nursey, honey, are you okay?”

Nursey tore his eyes away from the window and hummed.

“Oh, you’re probably on a load of painkillers, aren’t you? I’m sorry, I just thought you might want some company and Jack’s having his nap and then I figured I could drive you to the game, and of course, I wanted to take a welcome pie to—”

“Bitty, it’s fine,” Nursey cut in. “I’m glad you’re here, I was just distracted.”

* * *

It was painful watching his team play from the sidelines, but at least with Bitty by his side the experience was made a little more fun. They could cheer the team on together, and badmouth the referees, and when Nessie missed a pass off Tater, Bitty patted Nursey’s arm in sympathy but didn’t make him feel guilty. The games Nursey spent in the press box were a more stressful time altogether, with nobody to talk to and judgemental eyes on him every minute.

Nothing could be worse than when the Falconers were on the road, though. Nursey was left in Providence to watch games on the television and do daily physio. It felt wrong when he knew he should be in Florida, or Carolina, or Tennessee, and it was easy for him to grow tired of his dull routine. For days his only socialization was with his physiotherapist and the cat from the apartment opposite. The team would return for a week or so and remember to check in on him and drag him out to watch them practice or to meals out or the movies and then they would be off again.

“It’s reasonable to be upset, right? I mean, I know it was sort of my own fault for being so clumsy but I bet you’d be pretty annoyed too if someone said you couldn’t chase flies or lie in the sun all day. If it’s your job and your favorite thing to do and you know you’re good at it, why shouldn’t you be upset you can’t do it?”

The cat meowed and stretched, her paw pressed into Nursey’s leg. He rubbed her head.

“I knew you’d get me.”

* * *

The team had gone out to celebrate their victory against the Senators and Nursey had been dragged along with them. Now, he stumbled along between Thirdy and Poots in the direction of his apartment, alternating between telling them how much he appreciated them and how much he really didn’t need them to walk him home.

“Oh, I need bread,” he said when they reached the twenty-four-hour convenience store a block from his apartment.

“Right now?” Thirdy asked, but Nursey was already walking into the store. Poots wandered off to choose a slushie and Nursey left Thirdy at the door to see what else he might like to buy. When he got to the checkout he had a laser pen, a pack of notebooks and _Puss in Boots_ on Blu-ray.

“I’m buying this as a present for my best friend,” he told the sales assistant as she scanned the pen. She cast an unimpressed gaze over him and scanned the Blu-ray Disc.

“Come on then, Nurse.” Thirdy tugged on his good arm.

“But he hasn’t bought any—” Poots started. Thirdy shushed him.

“I really didn’t need Nursey Patrol,” Nursey told the foyer of his apartment building after Thirdy and Poots had left him. “My wrist is fine, I don’t know what you were all worrying about.”

A mew answered him and the cat appeared at the foot of the stairwell.

“Hi, Kitty Cat! Catty Kit. KitKat. KitKat is good. No identity crisis here even if I still don’t know your name. I missed you.” Nursey scratched her ears in welcome and headed for his door, gesturing to her to follow. “I bought you a present. Wait until you see!”

The cat was cautious in entering the apartment but Nursey flashed her a grin of reassurance and pulled the laser pen out his carrier bag. The red spot on the floor persuaded her over the threshold and with a wiggle of the pen she pounced. Nursey bounced the light over to the couch. When she chased it, he laughed in delight.

“Isn’t it great? I thought you’d like it. I think you’d like this, too.” He sat next to her and took _Puss In Boots_ out the bag. “We’ll watch it in a little bit, though. I need some food first.”

He wanted toast but had no bread so decided on Honey Nut Cheerios. As he ate, he watched the cat explore his living room. When she jumped onto the couch, he held his hand out.

“Cheerio?”

She sniffed the cereal but didn’t show any more interest in it.

“Are you one of those who won’t eat them dry?”

One of her ears twitched.

“Well, I’m sorry, but I only have soy milk. Do you like soy milk?”

She closed her eyes.

“I bet you’ve never even tried it. I wonder if cats can have soy milk.” Nursey opened up Safari on his phone to find out, which told him that soy milk was not good for cats but when he tried to see what they could have he couldn’t get the coordination in his fingers to search the right questions. He put his phone away with a sigh.

“No matter. If you get hungry you’ll just have to tell me what you want.”

The cat yawned.

“Yeah,” Nursey agreed. “We should watch _Puss in Boots.”_

He crouched on the floor to get the movie out and opened the DVD player. When he went to put the disc in, he realized his mistake.

“Oh no, KitKat. I bought Blu-ray. I can’t play this. And I left _Shrek 2_ at my parents’ house or we could have watched that because Puss is in that, too. I’ll have to find another way to entertain you. Maybe I could sing!”

He hummed tunelessly for a minute until one of the songs played at the bar earlier in the evening popped into his head.

“Sweet, fe-e-line. Doo doo dooo. Good times never felt so good. I’m a feline—”

He cut himself off when the cat yawned.

“Not a fan of Neil Diamond? I get it. What else is there? Oh, there’s this Tom Jones song—“

Her meow sounded more like a whine.

“I’m sorry. It’s these bars Marty and Jack choose. I swear I normally have better taste in music than this.”

KitKat jumped onto the back of the couch and meowed again. This time, Nursey saw her eyes were focused on the window. Her human, Redhead, was hunched on his couch frowning at a laptop as he punched at the keys furiously.

“So that’s your man, huh?”

KitKat reached a paw out to the window.

“What’s he like? He never seems to be there, or when he is he’s on that laptop of his. A bit of a workaholic, is he? Still, you do have to admire a man who knows how to work hard. He’s pretty, too.”

Her meow was louder this time. She jumped off the couch and ran across the room to meow at the front door.

“Oh shit,” Nursey realized. “I’ve totally catnapped you, haven’t I? I’m so fucking sorry, KitKat. Are you okay getting home on your own?”

She was out the door as soon as he opened it, which he took to mean she would be fine.

* * *

The week after, Nursey finally had his cast removed. KitKat wasn’t waiting for him when he returned from the hospital, so he turned his television on and flicked through endless options on Netflix. He turned it off again and wandered over to his bookcase, seeking inspiration. Nothing jumped out to him and instead he found himself playing with the laser pen he had bought the week before.

His newly naked wrist was stiff and in desperate need of some exercise. The red light of the laser darted around the room as Nursey slowly flexed his hand. He drew a circle around a Stanley Cup photo and bore the light into one of his sister’s eyes in a family picture from his cousin’s wedding so she looked like a demon.

He couldn’t see anything through the window opposite, but as he hadn’t seen KitKat elsewhere he wondered if he could tempt her out for a play. It took a few minutes of dragging the light around her apartment before she appeared, darting into view. Nursey leaned on his windowsill to watch her.

“Hey, Kitty Cat.”

He flashed the light in front of her and she slapped her paw over the spot just as Nursey moved it an inch to the side. Then, he took her up the arm of the couch and once she was sat there he let the light dance up the wall. So focused was he on her determination to scale the wall that he didn’t notice KitKat’s human until he was stood next to the cat, watching her with a frown.

“Shit,” Nursey muttered. Redhead narrowed his eyes at the red dot on the wall. Nursey turned the pen off and dropped to the floor before Redhead turned.

“Shit shit shit.”

Did it actually matter if he was seen? It was just an innocent game with a cat, but then there was all the time he had spent with her unbeknownst to his neighbor, and getting her into his apartment the week before. Maybe it was time for him to step back and focus on getting back into shape for hockey.

* * *

The downside of having his cast off, Derek had found, was that he felt as if he should be able to use his left hand more than he actually could. Where a week earlier he had struggled one-handed to carry all his trash down the stairs and around to the parking lot, at least he hadn’t been slowed down by trying to use his other hand and constantly having to stop to give his wrist a rest, or reshuffle the bags to even out the weight.

“Let me do that.”

Nursey swore as one of the bags of trash slipped through his fingers. Before he could bend to collect it, a white freckled hand beat him to it.

“Seriously, Nurse. You’re injured. Let go.”

Nursey squinted at his neighbor. “You know my name?”

The redhead frowned back. When he muttered, “Jack said you didn’t have a concussion,” he seemed to be talking to himself, but Nursey stared at him.

“How do you know my name?”

“You’re a professional hockey player.”

“Oh. So I am. Jack?”

“Zimmermann.”

It seemed a little odd that one of his captains had apparently mentioned if Nursey’s injury included a concussion in an interview, but he let the comment slide without question. “You’re into hockey, then?”

Redhead smirked as he opened the dumpster and flung Nursey’s trash into it in a fluid movement Nursey wouldn’t have been able to manage even with two fully working hands.

“I used to play. NCAA. Samwell University.”

“Oh! So you might know… Oh, you know Jack,” Nursey realized.

Redhead laughed. “He was my captain my frosh year. He’s actually the one who found me this apartment. Said he had a teammate who lived in this complex.”

Nursey raised an eyebrow. “Oh that’s what he said?”

“I wasn’t convinced I’d be able to afford somewhere an NHL player chose to live, but one of the other Samwell alumni — goalie who graduated just before I started — I think he’s the landlord? It was all a bit confusing, but he was advertising how good a price it would be for fellow ex-Wellies and I figured it was worth a shot.”

“I don’t really do extravagant anyway.” Nursey shrugged. “For just me, I’m happy having a small place like this and a simple swipe in security with nothing fancy as long as there’s an office for when I lose my keys.”

Redhead squinted at him. “Can’t relate.”

“You’ve never lost your keys?”

“I mean… no, but I mean I can’t relate to seeing this place as small and not fancy. This place is nice. Like, really nice.”

Nursey looked around the parking lot and up at the apartment buildings. “It’s okay.” 

Redhead snorted. “Okay, Nurse.”

“Hey, what’s your name? I feel this is totally unfair how you know who I am.”

“Uh. William Poindexter. Or just Dex.”

They carried on through the parking lot. Dex didn’t offer up any more information, but Nursey continued to walk with him all the same.

“You know that’s the door for your apartment, right?” Dex asked, gesturing with his thumb.

Nursey shrugged. “It’s very weird and stalkery how you know my name, occupation and address all without speaking to me before today.”

“Well, I think it’s weird how you play with my cat through the window. You’re not subtle.”

“Your cat loves me. What’s  _ her  _ name?”

“Clam.”

Nursey stopped short. “I beg your pardon?”

“It’s short for Clamerina Mrazova. After the NWHL player.”

“What? I— Isn’t— Isn’t her name Katerina? Why would you call your cat named after somebody called Kat ‘Clam’? What the actual fuck, Poindexter?”

Dex blinked. “I don’t understand your point.”

“All the cat related puns at your fingertips and you go with Clam?”

“I wasn’t just naming her after Mrazova. My best friend found her abandoned our senior year of college but he knew it would be hard to look after a cat after graduation because of his job and because his fiancée is allergic so I adopted her. And he’s called Chowder so, you know, New England clam chowder.”

Nursey nodded. “Manhattan clam chowder, yes, I know.”

“New England clam chowder,” Dex repeated. “We’re in New England. Both Clam and Chowder were born in Massachusetts and we all met in Massachusetts. And New England clam chowder is the real clam chowder.”

“Plus you’re from Maine.”

“And you accused me of being a stalker. Seriously, how?”

“Bro, if your car hadn’t given you away, your accent definitely did.”

“Do you make a habit of finding out which cars your neighbors drive?”

“Obviously. I have to know who to accuse if they park in my spot. You don’t?”

“Is your car the silver Jag?”

“No, that’s old Mr Henderson’s.”

Dex shook his head. “No way. I don’t believe you. He can barely climb steps.”

“It’s true, and he’s a total road rager. I drive a Toyota Prius. It’s green.”

“Of course you— Wait. Not the Prius with the Rangers flags in the rear window?”

Derek felt a warmth flood his cheeks. “I, uh— I hire a car on game days.”

“Oh my God. What’s the point of a car you can’t drive to your job?”

“I like my car. Leave her alone.”

Dex snorted and raised an eyebrow. “So…” He glanced at his front door, which they now stood outside.

“I’d love a coffee,” Nursey offered.

“I was going to ask if you were going to leave, actually.”

“Are you kidding? I want to see our cat. I haven’t had snuggles in a week.”

“You mean  _ my _ cat.”

“Po-tay-to, po-tah-to.”

Dex sighed and opened the door. Nursey wasted no time in finding the cat, curled up on the couch.

“Hi there, KitKat. That’s your actual name, now, because your Dad told me he’s terrible at naming cats. I’m so sorry you got treated like that, but I know it would be really confusing if we gave you a third name, so KitKat it’ll have to be. But that’s okay, isn’t it?”

“Fuck you, Nurse,” Dex called from the kitchenette as he got a couple of mugs out the cupboard.

“I’m more a third date kind of guy.”

Silence followed, and Nursey pulled a face at KitKat.

“Um.” Dex coughed. “Milk and sugar?”

“Just one sugar.”

“No milk?”

“Not unless you’ve got dairy-free.”

“Oh. No. Sorry.”

Nursey shook his head and turned his attention back to KitKat. “I missed you, KitKat. We should hang out more again. I liked it when we were doing that every day.”

“Her name’s Clam,” Dex said. He put two coffees — one white, one black — on an end table.

“It’s KitKat, now. She’s a sweet, sweet girl who deserves a better name than some shriveled thingy from the sea.”

Dex rolled his eyes. “Does it matter?”

“What’s in a name?” Nursey countered. “A cat by any other name would be as sweet, yes, but you can’t call her  _ Clam.” _

“Oh my God. Is that— You’re a  _ nerd. _ ”

Nursey grinned and sat back in the couch to make himself more comfortable. “If I’d gone to college, my major was going to be English.”

“Why didn’t you? You could have still played NCAA after being drafted.”

“All I really cared about was playing hockey. Sure, I like language and literature and  _ words,  _ but I don’t need a degree to appreciate them. Once I’d clinched a spot on the Falcs I wasn’t fussed about school.”

Dex nodded, slowly like he didn’t understand as much as he wanted to. “I think I still would have chosen the stability.”

Nursey bit back a retort. He could see how their situations were different and though his instinct was to be defensive over his own decision, Dex’s tone didn’t imply disapproval or judgment. “I was a little scared the opportunity might disappear if I didn’t take it straight away,” he admitted. “Even when I did take it, I kept expecting them to change their mind.”

This, Dex seemed to understand, given the way his eyes widened and his head dipped.

Nursey massaged his fingers into KitKat’s fur. “So what did you major in? I’m guessing  _ not  _ any sort of Creative Writing because you should be better at coming up with names…”

“Shut up.” Dex was red from the roots of his hair to the collar of his shirt. It was fascinating. “Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. I just started working for a tech company in Providence so that’s how I ended up here.”

“Do you like it?”

Dex shrugged. “It’s a job.”

“I meant Providence, but—” Nursey frowned. He had thought Dex worked too hard to have that sort of a feeling about his job.

“Oh. Yeah, it’s nice. I already knew the city, but I like living here and it’s good having Jack and Bitty so close. If only because I can ask them to catsit when I go away next week.”

“Where are you going?”

“To San Jose to see Chowder. It’s the first time I’ll have seen where he and Cait are living, and he got me a ticket to the game Saturday night.”

“Cool. Hey, if you ever need a catsitter and Bitty and Jack aren’t around, or even if you just don’t want to ask them to come out their way to check on her, I’d be happy to. Obviously, another few weeks and I’ll be going on roadies again, but when I’m around, I’d love to.” On cue, KitKat stepped up onto Nursey’s knee. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “We already established your cat adores me, so—”

Dex looked at him pensively. “Actually.” He hesitated, the conflict evident in his eyes. “I— Can I take you up on that? I hadn’t actually asked Bitty yet and I know Jack’s going to be on the Midwest roadie and Bitty might struggle to get over here in the mornings before he has to be at the bakery, and—”

“I’ll do it.”

* * *

He wasn’t sure why, but Nursey felt nervous as he waited for Dex to answer the door next Thursday evening. He tugged his sweater straight and patted his hair self-consciously, even though it was silly to want to look his best for KitKat.

The door flung open. Dex was still in his work suit; crumpled from a day hunched over computers. His tie was pulled to an angle and his hair stuck up above his ears as a sign he had been wearing glasses. A warmth filled Nursey’s chest.

“I only just got back from work.” Dex gestured with a ready to heat burrito. “I’m so sorry, I was going to write you a list of what she needs and when.”

“It’s okay. You can text me from the airport. Give me your phone. I’ll put my number in while you make that burrito. Is there anything else I can do?”

“All Clam’s food is in here,” Dex said, tapping a cabinet on his way to the microwave. “She has a bowl of the dry food this sort of time in the evening. That goes in the rainbow bowl. I usually fill it up to the top of the green stripe, and check she’s still got water in her lobster bowl.”

“Lobster bowl,” Nursey repeated. That flush was back, spreading across Dex’s neck.

“Two of my friends from Samwell bought it for me as a joke.”

Nursey nodded. “Because Clam.”

“Because I used to be a lobster farmer. You know lobsters and clams aren’t the same, right?”

“Well, yeah, but— Wait. You used to  _ what?” _

The microwave beeped and Dex used it as an excuse not to reply. “I need to go.” He held his hand out for his phone, which Nursey returned with his details saved under Nursey and a few heart eyes cat emojis. Dex swung a ratty, old hiking rucksack over his shoulder. “Thanks for doing this. The spare key is on the kitchen island for you. I’ll text you everything else.”

Then, he was gone, and Nursey turned to grin at KitKat. “Just you and me, now, sweet baby. We’re going to have a great time, aren’t we?”

* * *

He didn’t want KitKat to get thirsty. There was a definite chance that she would have emptied her water bowl in the hour Nursey was in the shower and getting breakfast, so it was perfectly reasonable to check before he went to physio. That’s what he told himself, anyway. He didn’t want Dex to think he was a bad catsitter who let KitKat go thirsty after only twelve hours.

“I’m back, Kitty Cat. Just for a hot minute before I have to go again, but I wanted to check you were okay.”

KitKat clawed at the cat tree. A glance at her water bowl showed she had barely touched it, if at all, and there was no distress or urgency in how she played with one of her toys.

“Okay. Good. Well, I’ll see you in a couple of hours, then.”

* * *

He popped in another six times that day, in between other jobs he had to do, and grew increasingly comfortable in Dex’s apartment. By the time he filled KitKat’s bowl for the evening, he knew his way around the apartment down to where Dex kept bandaids. He’d connected to the WiFi and got halfway through trying to buy PBS Masterpiece before he realized that might cross a line.

Somehow, it still took him until Saturday to look in the fridge. He had nothing to do all day, with no physio or doctor’s appointments and the Falcs in Minnesota, so he set up camp on Dex’s couch while KitKat went on an adventure. After all, he couldn’t leave Dex’s apartment with the door open and someone would have to let her back in when she wanted to come home so it stood to reason that Nursey stayed. He had a book with him, Dex’s Netflix account on the TV and was snugly curled up in the corner of the couch with one of Dex’s blankets.

He was thirsty, though, and water wasn’t hitting the spot so he figured if Dex wasn’t okay with him raiding the fridge, he could replace whatever he had.

His hand was already on a carton of orange juice when he saw the milk next to it wasn’t regular milk, but soy. No matter how hard he tried to come up with another reason why Dex would have soy milk when a week earlier he hadn’t any dairy-free, only one explanation made sense. He picked the carton up and gave it a shake. It was unopened.

A scratch at the door pulled Nursey from his thoughts.

“Tell me,” he said, opening the door. “Did he buy this for me?”

KitKat stared at the carton in his hand and meowed.

“I’m sorry.” Nursey stepped back so that she could get past him. “I know I’m being self-centered. Hello. Did you have a good walk?”

KitKat nudged his leg with her head and her tail curled against his knee.

“I’m going to make some coffee, but I’ll come cuddle with you in a minute.”

His mind kept returning to why Dex had bought the soy milk. He felt he should text him to say thank you, or to ask what kind of person buys milk just for their catsitter, or maybe why he was obsessing over it so much when he didn’t even know Dex. The problem was that no matter how good at words he usually was, they wouldn’t come to him now. In the end, he snapped a picture of KitKat and made sure to get his coffee in the background. He sent the picture along with the caption “she’s still alive!”

> **Dex**  
>    
>  Glad to hear it.  
>  Are you enjoying the coffee?  
>    
>  **Nursey**   
>  Yeah  
>  I was surprised you had soy  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  It was the least I could do for you looking after Clam, as you wouldn’t let me pay you  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  (Eyeroll emoji)  
>  I told u dude  
>  NHL salary  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  So basically I couldn’t actually afford you.

* * *

They kept texting back and forth all day. Nursey spent more time looking at his phone than he did the television, and more than once it took him longer than it should to tell Netflix that yes, he was still watching Queer Eye. He forgot to eat until KitKat complained that he hadn’t fed her yet, and his phone stayed in his hand the entire walk to the Thai takeout and back.

“Oops, sorry,” he said to KitKat when he got back and promptly tripped over her because he wasn’t looking where he was going. “This is why I’m not usually this person. That and most people aren’t that interesting to text this much.”

The conversation just seemed to flow with Dex, though. They talked about KitKat a lot, but also Bitty’s baking and experiences in hockey and Dex talked more about his job and confessed that if money hadn’t been an issue growing up he probably would have never gone into computers. Nursey, in turn, talked about how opportunities always seemed to pass him by when he was younger — going instead to his whiter, more conservative classmates — and he hadn’t even been captain of his team at Phillips Academy when he had emailed coaches and scouts and managers in the hope one of them would pay enough attention to consider him in the draft.

He had sent the text describing how he had cried the evening Georgia Martin emailed back before he could second guess himself.

> **Dex**  
>    
>  So no regrets?

Nursey wrote and rewrote his reply three times. It sounded cheesy and ingenuine, as he had always said he had no regrets at all, but something stopped him from saying that now.

> **Nursey**  
>  guess if id gone to Samwell instead i coulda been friends with you.

He flung himself down on the couch with a dramatic sigh. “KitKat, I’m fucked.”

KitKat tested his stomach with her paw, then stepped onto it. Nursey’s phone buzzed again and she darted onto the floor.

> **Dex**  
>    
>  We can still be friends  
>  Aren’t we friends now?  
>  I guess it’s pretty soon  
>  Actually it’s probably better because I don’t think we would have been friends when I first started Samwell  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  ofc we would be  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  Nah, I was a dick back then  
>  I blindly considered myself a republican without actually doing any research to what republican politics is even about.  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  Oh  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  Yeah.  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  So now?  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  Independent, I guess?  
>  I voted Hillary.  
>  I’ll be back in a bit, we just got to the stadium  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  Oh yeah!  
>  [Shark Emoji][Spade Emoji] game  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  [string of shark emojis]  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  I really didn’t have you down as a Sharks fan  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  Only for chowder  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  Your bff?  
>  He’s a big fan?  
>  Guess it makes sense if he lives in sj

Dex didn’t reply, no doubt busy with security and seat searching and everything else, so Nursey coaxed KitKat back onto his lap and looked for the game.

> **Nursey**  
>  Hey, you know it doesn’t start for ages right?  
>  Why are you there so early  
>    
>  **Dex**   
>  …  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  ??????  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  For Chowder?  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  I don’t know him!  
>  Stop talking like whatever weird fan obsession based traditions he has should make sense to me!  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  Fucking hell, Nurse  
>  Chris Chow  
>  He’s the sharks goalie

“Wait what?”

KitKat whined at him for the sudden movement and Nursey paused to kiss her in apology.

“Is this real? The guy you’re named for is Chris fucking Chow?”

He had known Jack knew Chow, of course, but Jack knew  _ everybody  _ in the hockey world. It hadn’t occurred to Nursey to find out where Jack had met a West Coast rookie. A quick Google brought him articles about Samwell University’s best prospects and pictures of Chow in red and white. There was even an Instagram picture of him, Dex, and a girl, all in graduation gowns that turned out to be from Bitty’s account.

> **Dex**  
>    
>  I thought you knew  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  I can’t keep up with everyone  
>  My ma says i live in my own world so  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  That actually explains a lot  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  I feel judged  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  No, it’s endearing  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  Are you saying you find me cute?  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  I have eyes  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  ??  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  Anyway, so the Sharks  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  !!  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  I think they’ve got a good chance here  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  I’m not letting this drop  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  Parse is good, but Chowder’s better  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  But what about me

* * *

Nursey’s thumb had started to seize up from constant texting. KitKat was asleep on his thigh, so he couldn’t move, but he didn’t particularly want to when he knew he had Dex’s attention. 

> **Dex**  
>    
>  C+C are talking about going to bed  
>  Which leads me to ask  
>  Why the fuck are you still awake?  
>  I know Chowder’s just played a hockey game so he’s tired but you’re three hours ahead of us.  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  C+C?  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  Chowder and his fiancee Cait  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  Its your fault im still awake  
>  Ive been texting u  
>  Plus kitkat is asleep on me so i cant move  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  You’re still at my apartment?

Nursey blinked at the text. Shit, it was weird that he was still there, wasn’t it? He was just catsitting, so really he should have filled up her bowls and cleaned her litter tray and gone home straight away. Instead, he had spent the entire day on Dex’s couch, talking to Dex but not mentioning where he was.

> **Dex**  
>    
>  Push her off you, she’ll be fine.  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  I’m sorry.  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  What?  
>  Why?  
>  No, it’s okay. I’m okay with it. I just thought you’d have gone home by now.  
>  You should get some sleep.  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  Yeah

He didn’t know what else to say. He felt bad that he had invaded Dex’s home and it didn’t help when he lifted KitKat off his lap and her tail twitched sadly as she disappeared under the couch.

“I’m sorry, Kitty Cat. I’ll be back in the morning.”

Nursey rubbed his face and forced himself to his feet.

> **Dex**  
>    
>  My flight gets in at 10.30ish tomorrow evening.  
>  Will you still be at mine then?  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  Nah, don’t worry about it  
>  I’ll give her her evening food and then get out before you come home  
>  I don’t want to get in your way.  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  Nursey  
>  I’m telling you if you’re still up when I get home, I want to see you.  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  I know I crossed a line, you don’t have to tell me in person  
>  I’ll leave your key where you’d left it for me  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  This is so hard over text but I’m in the middle of getting ready for bed so now’s not good to FaceTime  
>  You didn’t cross a line  
>  I don’t want to see you to tell you off  
>  I bought your milk so you felt you could hang out at mine  
>  KitKat loves you  
>  I like talking to you  
>  It’d be nice to see you if you’re around.

Nursey chewed on his lips. It had seemed like Dex was flirting with him earlier, but it was hard to tell over text, and he felt insecure and uncertain in a way he hadn’t in a long time. Every genuine response he tried to type out felt too vulnerable and intense. Instead, he deflected.

> **Nursey**  
>  “Nice.”  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  That would be a great chirp from an English major  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  WOW  
>  Wait wait wait  
>  You called her kitkat  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  No I didn’t  
>  She’s called Clam  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  [screenshot of dex saying kitkat]  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  I’m going to bed now.  
>  I’ll talk to you tomorrow.  
>  Goodnight, Derek

Nursey sat on his bed, his phone clutched to his chest.

> **Nursey**  
>  Goodnight, Will.

* * *

The first hour of Sunday was filled with worries that the texting spree the day before had been a one off, and the way it had ended would mean they would now go back to being near strangers who happened to live opposite each other but for the most part, tried to avoid each other. Nursey was plagued with the fear that it would be awkward, and next time Dex needed a catsitter he would ask Bitty.

Of course, then KitKat had to go and be so adorable that Nursey had to text Dex a picture of her and the floodgates opened. In half an hour he sent twenty texts despite no replies and the knowledge that it was not yet dawn in California.

He was halfway through a game of chase the laser dot with KitKat when Dex got back to him.

> **Dex**  
>    
>  Just so you know, waking up to more than forty texts from the person looking after my cat and closest companion is not great for my anxiety.

Nursey started to type out an apology, but another text came through. Then another. And another. One by one, Dex replied to each text in turn, with soft comments and heart-eye emojis and a tenderness that he had refrained from the day before. Nursey replied to a question about how much KitKat was eating, and then a separate comment on her habit of nesting into the blankets on the armchair and the thread spawned into three separate conversations.

> **Dex**  
>    
>  The guy in front of me in the line to check bags in is wearing your jersey.  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  Ppl do that  
>  I didn’t realize you were at the airport already?  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  Just got here.  
>  I didn’t have time to look at my phone until we were on the way to the airport.  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  Damn you really flying all day  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  Not all of us have private jets to take us straight to our destination  
>  I’ve got to change twice  
>    
>  Nursey  
>  I don’t have my own private jet  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  Mhmmm  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  I don’t!  
>    
>  **Dex**  
>  Security. Give Clam one of her treats and tell her I’m coming home.  
>    
>  **Nursey**  
>  Ill do that for kitkat, yes.

* * *

“Hey there, gorgeous.” A soft voice cut through darkness, bringing Nursey into a hazy state of semi-consciousness. His face was buried into a soft plaid cushion and he felt disoriented and uncomfortable. “Don’t look at me like that,” the voice continued. “Come on.”

A weight was lifted from Nursey’s side and he grunted at the loss. There was a loud meowing and the pitter-patter of paws.

“Nursey. Come on, Derek, wake up.” 

“Why,” Nursey grumbled into a cushion.

“Sleeping on the couch is bad for your back.”

A bucket of ice water may as well have been thrown over Nursey for how quickly he awoke. He scrambled for his phone and found himself looking at texts which had come through from Dex at his second airport stop and he hadn’t seen before.

“Shit. I didn’t mean to fall asleep here. I just— I’m sorry, I’ll go.” He rubbed his face.

“You don’t have to. If you’re that tired. You can sleep in my bed. If you want. Just don’t sleep on that couch. I don’t want to be responsible for you having to take more time off hockey.”

Nursey found himself nodding before he had time to process what he was doing, and then Dex had his hand and was pulling him toward the bedroom.

“There’s sweatpants and soft t-shirts in the bottom drawer there if you want to borrow anything,” Dex told him. “I’ll just get a blanket to go on the couch and be out your way.”

“Wait. I thought— No, if I shouldn’t sleep on the couch, neither should you.”

“You’re a professional athlete, Derek. I sit at computers all day, and I don’t start until midday tomorrow. I’ll be okay.”

“Stay.”

“What?”

“You could just stay. We can both— Will. Please stay.”

Dex’s face went slack. “Are you—?”

“We can talk all you want in the morning, but— but I’m tired and we should just go to bed.”

Dex hesitated, but Nursey barely had time to swallow away his nerves before Dex nodded and disappeared into the bathroom.

Generally, Nursey slept in the middle of his bed — a habit grown from the Queen bed he enjoyed in childhood when he only had to share it with his stuffed toys and a lack of long term relationships in the last couple of years — but it was clear which bedside table was more used by Dex, so Nursey got in the other side and wriggled until he was comfortable. He listened to the sounds of water running and an electric toothbrush and figured he would wait until Dex was there to double check this was really alright with him and say goodnight.

Maybe he would just close his eyes while he waited, though.

* * *

He awoke to a face full of ginger hair. Half-convinced he was still in his dreams, he leaned in but when he remembered that falling asleep in Dex’s bed was not just a dream he jerked back. Not yet. Not now. Not when they weren’t fully awake and hadn’t talked about it.

Dex was still asleep, firmly on the other side of the bed, though he faced Nursey and his arm was stretched out in the gap between them. A bleary memory came to Nursey of waking up while it was still dark outside and his hand finding Dex’s under the covers.

“Hi,” Dex had whispered into the dark and their fingers had tangled together.

“Okay?” Nursey had muttered. He hoped it would be. He hoped Dex would know what he meant. He must have fallen asleep again soon after that because he didn’t remember anything else.

The ginger hair Nursey had pressed his face into turned out not to be Dex at all, but KitKat who had found a spot in between them at some point during the night. She opened her eyes and slowly blinked at him. Nursey leaned his head toward her again and let her bop her forehead against his cheek.

“Thank you,” he whispered. It was thanks to her that he was there, after all.

{END}

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to shadowfaerieammy for beta'ing!


End file.
